Employment Insurance and the Society

In the motion picture “The Company Men,” Ben Affleck and Chris Cooper play executives struggling with the most troubling of all career changes - unemployment. The New York Observer wrote in a review that the drama "does a piercing job of making you feel the dehumanizing effects that loss of a job can have on grown men, but it's more truthful and devastating than that." You cannot watch this movie without having a lump in your throat and asking yourself the question “are my bosses satisfied with me?”  The movie can be related to the results of a 1985 prospective investigation published in the American Journal of Public Health which reported that men who lost their jobs substantially sought more health care, took more medication, and spent more days in bed ill than those who are employed. 

Job loss can be disastrous for anyone regardless of marital or parental status.  Aside from the financial effect, lack of employment can do something to your general outlook and health. No…this is just taking the effect of income source loss too lightly. The impact on mental and physical health much more to do with income than we care to declare. Imagine not getting your compensation at the end of the year? Even if you have money saved somewhere, the fact that you’re not receiving anything when you should be is painful in itself. 

What is it about being out of work that eats away our self esteem and our health, too? The bigger issue here, however, is how to soften the blow of unemployment so we can cope with the emotional side of it. This is precisely what we expect employment insurance to give us.  Employment insurance benefits are offered for those who are removed from their job permanently or temporarily despite having done nothing wrong. An  example of the latter is a long gap of unemployment due to a health issue or else falling pregnant, or having to care for a sick relative.

Employment coverage plays a huge role in our society, primarily because of the support it can give to unemployed members of the family, the most basic societal unit. Such benefits can help handle a lot of potential family issues that could otherwise be hugely worrying due to job loss. Even for a solitary employee, assistance can do much in terms of having more time to find the best new job instead of rushing to get a menial job just to support daily sustenance.What's more, an insured citizen with reasonable mind and body is sure to be a happier member of the society.